Comic Book Historians

Joshua Sky Biographical Interview

Joshua Sky, the Masters of the Universe mini-comic writer, joins Comic Book Historians to share growing up on Maui in the 1990s, discovering comics through polybag packs and Marvel trading cards, and finding community in a local Dungeons & Dragons group. He traces his path from a Daily Show internship and five years in Marvel’s licensing division during the Disney acquisition through work at Disney, Fox, and animation on Ben 10 and Niko and the Sword of Light. A science-fiction short story in Heavy Metal led to writing MOTU mini-comics for Mattel, where he has produced about fifty issues, created new characters, and worked with original creators. The talk ends with his short-story collection Nervous System, a Heavy Metal feature, graphic memoir Aloha, and thoughts on thriving as a hybrid corporate-creative. #MOTU #HEMAN #MINICOMIC #skeletor Support the show

Jim Shooter Biographical Interview Part 6 of 6 by Alex Grand

Alex Grand & Jim Shooter fill in the gaps not discussed from his career spanning biographical interview with Alex Grand & Jim Thompson. Shooter starts off on licensing deals with why the movie Star Wars saved Marvel whereas the Superman film didn't, licensed products like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Starriors, Crystarr & Raiders of the Lost Ark, Battlestar Galactica, Godzilla & Shogun Warriors, Micronauts, ROM , GI JOE, pushing HASBRO to make female GIJOE's, Marvel Productions animation's relationship with Stan Lee under DePatie & Margaret Loesch, the origin of Transformers & Optimus Prime, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends with Iceman & FireStar, his creation of Cybertron, Stan Lee's formal title as publisher in the 1980s, Star Comics, Care Bears, He-Man, Spider-Ham, Royal Roy Harvey lawsuit with Warren Kremer, ThunderCats, Avengers 200 with Marcus & Carol Danvers, 1986 being the year of corporate war, Jim Owsley/Christopher Priest, Why he didn't stop New Universe after funding was cut, his working relationship with Barry Windsor-Smith and Valiant corporate deals, why he penciled under the name Paul Creddick in the early Valiant days, Don Perlin, working on new Valiant and Darkhorse with Mike Richardson in 2007, and his final verdict on Gary Groth and the Comics Journal. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. #Animation #Jim Shooter #Godzilla #GIJoe #Transformers © 2021 Comic Book Historians, LLC. Support the show

Jim Shooter Biographical Interview Part 5 of 6 by Alex Grand

Alex Grand & Jim Shooter fill in the gaps not discussed from his career spanning biographical interview with Alex Grand & Jim Thompson. Shooter starts off contrasting both Stan Lee & Jack Kirby both of whom he worked with from 1976-1978 on the Spider-Man newspaper strip & Eternals, talks about their Silver Surfer graphic novel, working with Sol Brodsky at Marvel, seeing Larry Lieber over at Atlas/Seaboard, the copyright law of 1978 that affected his job from his first day as Editor-In-Chief, the creators union that Neal Adams tried to build in 1978, his role in Neal Adams' film Nannaz, Steve Ditko's input into the creators union discussion, why Jim Starlin left Marvel in 1977 and came back in 1980, his last banquet with Wally Wood at SDCC shortly before his death, the altercation between him and Howard Chaykin that caused his departure from Marvel & mainstream comics for a while, the exodus of other artists & writers of Marvel during his tenure, the incoming new crowd of comic artists and writers, why Denny O'Neill arrived at Marvel and then left in the 1980s, the genesis of Marvel Age Magazine with Carol Kalish & Jim Salicrup, working with Danny Fingeroth, the creation of the 1984 Marvel Fumetti comic, working with Marvel tech expert Eliot R. Brown, and why Mike Carlin left Marvel. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. #Marvel #Jim Shooter #SDCC #Atlas #MarvelAge © 2021 Comic Book Historians Support the show

John Broome & Arnold Drake interview by David Armstrong

David Armstrong interviewed Golden and Silver Age great, John Broome in 1998 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into comic books and pulps in the 1930s, working at Quality Comics and DC Comics, knowing Otto Binder, his favorite comic book genre, his science fiction stories synergizing with the space race, trying to gather support for creators to claim reprint rights from Jack Liebowitz, his stories of the 1950s, if comic books were a gateway to larger narrative projects, his enjoyment of films, writing a movie about Casanova, why he left comic books, and his dearest friend, Julius Schwartz. Armstrong also interviewed Pulp & Graphic Novel writer and Silver Age great, Arnold Drake in 2005 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his early forays into writing in the army during the Battle of the Bulge, submitting stories to the vintage paperback market, meeting Leslie Waller with whom he wrote what some consider the first graphic novel, It Rhymes With Lust, entering DC Comics through his friendship with Bob Kane, his opinion of Mort Weisinger, writing Showcase #1, revitalizing Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis licensed comics at DC, discussing the threat of Stan Lee's Marvel Age with Irwin Donenfeld, creating Doom Patrol, interacting with Dick Giordano, Carmine Infantino and his favorite artist, Bruno Premiani. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand. Support the show

Jim Shooter Biographical Interview Part 4 of 6 by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Jim Shooter in a career spanning biography. Travel thru his life as he brought in and worked with Frank Miller on Daredevil, behind the curtain scenes into Marvel's sale from Cadence to New World, the transition from him to DeFalco in 1987 (6:32:00), raising money to bid to buy Marvel from New World in 1989, his long professional relationship w/ Steve Ditko, his professional relationship w/ Layton & Massarsky (6:35:45), the rise & fall of Valiant Comics, corporate shake ups with Layton & Barry Windsor-Smith, saying goodbye to Don Perlin, giving Joe Quesada his 1st comics job, helped the Image Revolution, helped Milestone comics the rise & fall of Defiant Comics, efforts to again own Marvel during its 1996 bankruptcy, Broadway Comics w/ Lorne Michaels, behind the scenes corporate warfare between ToyBiz & Marvel, Unity 2000, working on America propaganda comics for the state department distributed to the Middle East, his most recent work for DC Comics on the Legion of Superheroes, other current projects, who did what at 1960s Marvel; Stan, Kirby or Ditko, DC comics 1960s suit jacket & tie fashion permeating into 1980s Marvel & 1990s Valiant, & his family. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. #Marvel #Jim Shooter #Image #Milestone © 2021 Comic Book Historians Support the show

Jim Shooter Biographical Interview Part 3 of 6 by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Jim Shooter in a career spanning biography. Travel thru his life as he discusses the Ant-Man Wasp controversy, the dead Korvac saga sequel, oversaw Roger Stern create Monica Rambeaux, improving access to opportunities in the comics industry to African-American, Asian and female creators like Denys Cown, Ron Wilson, Larry Hama and Louise Simonson, how both Star Wars and the Superman film reinvigorated Marvel in 1978, ending the editor-writer arrangement of Marvel's 1970s, overseeing Walt Simonson's Thor, overseeing the genesis of Epic Illustrated with Rick Marschall and Archie Goodwin, explaining the death of the Marvel Black and White Magazines, the business discussions between Stan Lee, Jim Shooter & Jim Galton in the early 1980s, the creation of Dazzler, starting the royalty incentive plan at Marvel, his assessment of Paul Levitz, contributing to the growth of the early direct market as Marvel's Editor-in-Chief via Phil Seuling & Chuck Rozanski, bringing Graphic Novels to Marvel with Jim Starlin, overseeing Chris Claremont's X-Men, the inside to Marvel's legal issues with Jack Kirby over original art, the terms of the Steve Gerber - Howard the Duck settlement, the creation of Contest of Champions with Bill Mantlo, the departures of some 1970s Marvel creators for DC Comics in the early 1980s including Wolfman, Colan, Moench, Chaykin, Ploog & Roy Thomas, Secret Wars w/ Mike Zeck & the black Spider-Man suit, wrote or edited the Marvel DC comic crossovers & the dead Avengers/JLA story, the original Kirby Spider-Man proposal to Marvel, fond memories of Mark Gruenwald, oversaw John Byrne on X-Men, Captain America & Fantastic Four, genesis of the Marvel Universe handbook, the corporate situation that led to his different managerial temperament in the later half of his reign, how Dark Knight Returns begat the Fall of the Mutants. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. #XMen #Marvel #Jim Shooter #Avengers #StanLee © 2021 Comic Book Historians Support the show

Martin Filchock interview by David Armstrong

David Armstrong interviewed Platinum and Golden Age great, Martin Filchock in 2000 on set at his home in Rogersville, Tennessee about his entry into comic books in the 1930s with Tidbits Magazine, his blue collar background working the railroad, meeting Bill Cook at Comics Magazine Company, working on Mighty Man and other comics at Centaur, his life in the Civilian Conservation Corps and how it reflected in his C.C. Kid strip, working next to Bill Everett, Jack Cole, Lloyd Jacquet, leaving Centaur, and his ability to get work as a cartoonist to get away from the manual labor that most his family settled with. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand. Support the show

Jim Shooter Biographical Interview Part 2 of 6 by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Jim Shooter in a career spanning biography. Travel thru his life as he joined Marvel as associate editor under Marv Wolfman and his first encounter with the Marvel Method in 1975, the editor-writer wars of the 1970s, origin of Jim Galton, working w/ Editor-in-Chief Archie Goodwin, plotted the Spider-Man news-strip w/ Stan Lee, became Editor-in-Chief in 1978, and wrote the Avengers comic w/ George Perez. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. #Marvel #Jim Shooter #Avengers #StanLee © 2021 Comic Book Historians Support the show

Jim Shooter Biographical Interview Part 1 of 6 by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Jim Shooter in a career spanning biography. Travel thru his youth as Mort Weisinger's 14- year-old apprentice created the rogue's gallery of the Legion of Superheroes, Princess Projectra, #KarateKid, Ferro Lad's death & intended race, drew layouts with his scripts for DC artists Gil Kane, Wally Wood, and Neal Adams, Captain Action teaching him Toy-Comics synergy, DC’s first drug addiction and rehab comic story, Parasite for Superman, wrote the first Superman-Flash race, Mort Weisinger’s abusive behavior, his short 1969 stay at Marvel Comics, his odd run-ins at the YMCA presented in Hulk Magazine 23 1980, working for an ad agency in the early 1970s, worked at DC Comics again under Julius Schwartz. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. #DCComics #Weisinger #Schwartz #JimShooter © 2021 Comic Book Historians Support the show

Creig Flessel & Fred Guardineer interview by David Armstrong

David Armstrong interviewed Platinum and Golden Age great, Creig Flessel in 1998 on set at Long Island, New York about his early training in the Grand Central Art School, his entry into comic books in the mid 1930s with Vincent Sullivan on More Fun Comics for Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied Publications, his covers for Detective Comics, other artists like Leo O'Mealia, Bert Christman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, early Superman, depicting African American protagonists, why he left comic books for advertising at Johnstone and Cushing, comic strips and his relationships with other comic book professionals. Armstrong also interviewed Platinum and Golden Age great, Fred Guardineer in 1998 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into comic books in the 1930s, working with Street and Smith pulps, getting into the comic book business with Harry Chesler and Vincent Sullivan under Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, and the company shake up with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz taking control of Detective Comics, his work in Action Comics creating Zatara, freelancing with other companies like Quality Comics, and lessons he learned about the power of the comic book medium. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand. Support the show

Joe Simon & Vincent Sullivan interview by David Armstrong

David Armstrong interviewed Golden Age great, Joe Simon in 1998 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into Hearst comic strips in the 1930s, comic books in Funnies Inc and becoming Timely/Marvel Comics' first editor, meeting Jack Kirby at Victor Fox comics, Wonder Comics with Will Eisner's Wonder Man, Eisner and Iger's split, creating Captain America, leaving Timely for DC Comics, his relationship with Jack Liebowitz, Sandman & Boy Commandoes, his friend Charles Nicholas, Al Harvey, creating Romance Comics with Jack Kirby, their special contrast at Prize/Crestwood, leaving comic books and his encounter with Jim Steranko at the Harvey Thrillers line. Armstrong also interviewed Platinum and Golden Age superhero comic book medium cofounder, Vincent (Vin) Sullivan in 1998 on set at Long Island, New York about his beginnings as a sports cartoonist, entry into comic books with Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's New Fun comics, their bullpen, meeting Creig Flessel, distribution through Independent News, encouraging Bob Kane to create his superhero (Batman), working with Whitney Ellsworth, overseeing Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's early comics, editing Action Comics 1 with the first appearance of Superman, editing the covers of Adventure comics, his failed cartoon strip with Jimmy Durante, observing Donenfeld and Liebowitz's take over of the company, leaving DC to start Magazine Enterprises, his editor Ray Krank, international distribution, and looking back at the comic book industry 50 years later. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand. Support the show

The Silver Age Panel at San Diego Comic Con 2025: How Flash Saved the Comic Book Industry

In 1955, comic book companies were struggling to stay afloat after a rough five years of censorship, a changing readership, and the invention of television. During an editorial meeting at National Periodical Publications, somebody suggested bringing back the company’s superheroes. National settled on a redesign of an old character—The Flash—and the world would never be the same. This created Marvel Comics and the Marvel Age. Michael Lites, Bill Field, Alex Grand, Kevin Garcia, Flaming Carrot creator Bob Burden, and Philip Nelson (Nelco Comics) investigate how the reintroduction of this superhero became a smash hit and inspired a resurgence of imagination that saved the industry. #dccomics #silverage #marvel #marvelcomics #stanlee #jackkirby #steveditko Support the show

The Many Hands of Bill Finger SDCC 2025 Panel

Panel description: Before Gotham had shadows, writer Bill Finger cast them. Comics scholar Alex Grand (*Understanding Superhero Comic Books*) moderates a lively conversation with Athena Finger (Bill’s granddaughter and advocate), historian Bill Field (Field of Comics), and playwright/filmmaker Leonard Schwartz (Bill Finger: Rise of the Bat), and now with Mark Evanier (Bill Finger Awards). Together we trace Finger’s career across comics, television, and film, and show why crediting Batman’s co-creator still matters to today’s storytellers and fans. #Batman #DCComics #BillFinger #ComicBooks #ComicsHistory #Gotham #BatmanCreator #Superheroes #ComicCon #ComicBookPanel Support the show

Rob Liefeld Biographical Interview Part 2 by Alex Grand

Rob Liefeld returns to the CBH podcast talking about Youngblood hitting its stride, Extreme Studios becomes a hothouse of new series: Brigade, Bloodstrike, and nearly two dozen more, all while he mentors rising talents Dan Fraga, Norm Rapmund and more. Mounting costs inside Image spark sharp discussions with Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, and Mark Silvestri, nudging Liefeld to open Maximum Press for experiments like Battlestar Galactica and Avengelyne. He talks about his exit from Image and his stint on Marvel’s Heroes  Reborn, where his Captain America made headlines amidst Marvel’s bankruptcy. Recharged, he launches Awesome Comics, partners with Alan Moore for an Award‑winning Supreme, and joins Golden Age legend Joe Simon to shield Fighting American in court. A family walk through Greek ruins now feeds the mythic spark in Cable, Deadpool, and their Fortnite cameos. Royalties still arrive, proof that owning your stories keeps the dream alive, which is a lesson his friend Robert Kirkman echoes with Walking Dead and Invincible. #RobLiefeld #Youngblood #ExtremeStudios #ImageComics #CreatorRights #HeroesReborn #CaptainAmerica #MaximumPress #AlanMoore #Deadpool Support the show

Don McGregor Career Interview with Alex Grand & Jim Thompson Part 4

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Don McGregor on his career in a final fourth of a four parter discussing his work with Dean Mullaney at Eclipse, Ragamuffins, working at DC Comics with Nathaniel Dusk, Julius Schwartz, Dragonflame with David Anthony Kraft, work for hire with Marvel, Black Panther's Quest for Marvel Comics Presents, Detectives Inc sequel with Gene Colan, the Detectives Inc Movie, Topps, Zorro, Dracula, Jurassic Park, Golden Eye, Lady Rawhide, Tom Yeates, Ultimate Ragamuffins and beyond! Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. Support the show

Don McGregor Career Interview with Alex Grand & Jim Thompson Part 3

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview comic writer Don McGregor, in a third parter on discussing Black Panther fighting the KKK, antagonism with editorial, Archie Goodwin & Jim Shooter, the personal issues he was dealing with in the middle to later 1970s that affected his writing output, writing Michael Golden's first Marvel work, Dagger, and Sabre with Eclipse. Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. Support the show

Mark Ditko and Mort Todd Ditkoverse Interview 2025

Ditkoverse publications are here: http://www.igg.me/at/ditkoverse1 Alex Grand speaks with Steve Ditko’s nephew, Mark Ditko, and longtime Ditko collaborator Mort Todd about their DitkoVerse publishing venture, a project dedicated to “remastering” and re-presenting classic Steve Ditko stories in high-quality editions . They describe their upcoming Indiegogo campaign, which kicks off a broader plan to keep Ditko’s independent work in continuous print leading up to what would have been his 100th birthday in 2027. The initial releases include Mister A—relettered and published in color for the first time—along with Fantastic Giants (featuring Charlton monster stories), Static (a superhero title), and a revised edition of Avenging World, Ditko’s philosophical opus. Mort Todd, who worked with Ditko as far back as the mid-1980s, explains the painstaking restoration process—cleaning up original black-and-white artwork, recoloring, and updating lettering in a way that stays faithful to Ditko’s intent. Mark emphasizes that the family’s focus is on honoring Steve Ditko’s desire to keep his work available and of high quality. The interview also touches on personal anecdotes—such as Ditko’s private yet supportive nature—and highlights their shared commitment: all funds raised will go directly into producing and distributing further reprints and unreleased material so future generations can appreciate Ditko’s unique blend of storytelling, philosophy, and artistry. 00:00 Intro and greetings 00:28 Settlement with Disney 01:01 Receiving Legend Award 02:15 Launching DitkoVerse Project 03:46 Mort Todd involvement 05:02 Why use Indiegogo 11:00 Exclusive fan rewards 11:37 Starting titles lineup 14:00 Avenging World spotlight 15:37 Restoration process details 16:16 Balancing family legacy 19:16 Beyond Marvel overview 22:43 Editorial approach discussion 28:00 Social media impact 31:00 Mort Todd anecdote 35:02 Mark Ditko anecdote 40:05 Indiegogo campaign info 01:00:48 Wrap up thoughts 01:03:00 End of interview My book, Understanding Superhero Comic Books available at https://a.co/d/iIE3fWH . 🤔 Hope you enjoyed this video! 👍 If you enjoy this video, please like and share it. 👉 Don't forget to subscribe to this channel for more updates. 🚫 Subscribe by clicking this link 🔗 https://bit.ly/3iRIaxx ⚡️ Swim into our playlists ⚡️ 🎶 CBH Docuseries by Alex Grand 🔗 https://bit.ly/CBH-Docuseries 🎶 CBH Interview Series 🔗 https://bit.ly/CBH-InterviewSeries 🎶 History of DC Comics Video Series by Alex Grand 🔗 https://bit.ly/3CrGqnV 🎶 Origin of Marvel Comics Video Series by Alex Grand 🔗 https://bit.ly/3yx4gvV 🎶 CBH Videos in Order of Episode Number 🔗 https://bit.ly/3lBl29H 🎶 Comic Book Flip Thru 🔗 https://bit.ly/3xz8QIO 🎶 Historic Footage 🔗 https://bit.ly/3AiukLR 🎶 CBH Motion Comics 🔗 https://bit.ly/3yvHMLX 🎶 CBH Panel Series 🔗 https://bit.ly/3s36voy 🎶 Comic Book Historians Playlists 🔗 https://bit.ly/CBH-Playlists ⚡️ Our Socials ⚡️ ✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Comicbookhistorians ✅ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comicbookhistorians ✅ Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/comichistorians 🎙 Audio Podcasts 🔗 https://comicbookhistorians.buzzsprout.com 🌐 Website 🔗 https://comicbookhistorians.com/ ✊ You want to support our project? We'd be happy for your support on Patreon. ⚡️ Check us out on Patreon 🔗 https://www.patreon.com/comicbookhistorians 󰛝 An extra special thank-you to all my kind Patreon supporters. 🙏 Thank you for watching Support the show

Will Eisner interview by David Armstrong

David Armstrong interviewed Golden Age great and Graphic Novelist, Will Eisner in 1997 on set at San Diego Comic Con about the early history of comic books, comic strip reprints, his entry into comics, WOW What A Magazine!, his partnership with Jerry Iger, the growing concept of early comic books with original material, starting the Eisner and Iger shop, partnering with Everett M. Arnold at Quality Comics on the Spirit Newspaper Insert, departing the Iger shop, serving in World War 2, its effect on his storytelling and starting PS Magazine. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand. Support the show

Jerry Ordway Power Hour Interview by Alex Grand & Filippo Marzo

Alex Grand & Filippo Marzo interview Jerry Ordway for an hour in a co-interview process where the english version is here at Comic Book Historians, and the italian version is at Comics Reporter. Jerry is asked about his DC Comics career highlights from the 1980s through the 2000s with All-Star Squadron and Infinity Inc with Roy Thomas, Crisis on Infinite Earths with George Perez, Adventures of Superman with Marv Wolfman and John Byrne, artist for the 1989 Batman Film adaptation, his writer-artist period with Superman and Power of Shazam, co-creating Wildstar with Al Gordon, Zero Hour with Dan Jurgens, Tom Strong with Alan Moore and Just Imagine with Stan Lee. ©Comic Book Historians, LLC. Support the show

Bob Hall, Comic Artist, Writer & Actor Interview Part 2 by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Bob Hall part 2, from his early days as a comic reader, his University education in Theatre, his turned in first work for Charlton Comics, studying at the John Buscema Comic Art School, getting into Marvel under editor Archie Goodwin, then under new editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, the Yellowjacket Wasp story, Squadron Supreme with Mark Gruenwald, co-creating West Coast Avengers, Emperor Doom, Valiant Comics, Future Comics, his Joker graphic series for DC, and his modern theatre work. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. #Avengers #SquadronSupreme #Valiant #Marvel © 2021 Comic Book Historians Support the show

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